TUESDAY, Nov. 26, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- Knowing the symptoms of lung cancer can help you get an early diagnosis and improve your chance of survival.
Lung cancer symptoms can include chest pain, chronic fatigue, bloody sputum, a persistent cough, and repeated bronchitis and pneumonia, says the Global Lung Cancer Coalition (GLCC).
Raising awareness of lung cancer symptoms and the importance of early diagnosis is the main message of the GLCC's Action on Lung Cancer campaign in November.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death in men and women around the world, killing more than 1 million people each year. Lung cancer survival rates following treatment lag far behind survival rates for other common cancers such as breast and prostate.
Only 1 in 10 lung cancer victims can expect to live five or more years, and one of the reasons is that lung cancer is rarely caught in its early stages. The early symptoms of lung cancer are often mistaken for less serious diseases. That means it's more likely the cancer has already spread through the lungs and to other parts of the body before it's diagnosed.
If caught early enough, lung cancer may be treated successfully by surgery.
More Information
To see the full lung cancer symptom checklist, go to the GLCC Web site.
